The Message of Fairy Tales

[ChristineES]

I've been on kind of a fairy tale kick for a couple of weeks. One of the stories I read was by Charles Perrault (who had one of the more popular versions of Cinderella, the version used by Disney). I read this story called Patient Griselda. It was a story of a sweet natured young lady named Griselda and a prince who did not trust women. The prince decided that Griselda was "better than other women". He trusted her and married her but then he began to believe that she would become "demanding" so he began to mistreat her to prove to himself that she was good enough, including sending their daughter away and telling her that the child had died and then sending Griselda away. In the end, all worked out. He decided that Griselda was good enough and she remarried him. And the people were happy that the prince had proven she was a good woman.

What!!!??? I could not believe the end of this story or the moral of this story. It made me nauseous.

Should we let our children read such stories!?

 

[Thana]

Hehe, Most of the fairy tale's we read kids are watered down versions of very, very disturbing tales.

I loved The Little Mermaid, But then I got my hands on the Hans Christian Andersen one, Where instead of the Prince falling in love with Ariel and marrying her and they live happily ever after, the Prince chooses the witch over Ariel and she decides to kill them both, But then changes her mind and kills herself by jumping into the ocean.

I'd stick to the Disney retellings for kids.

 

[Gnostic Seeker]

I still find Hansel and Gretel and Bluebeard disturbing.

 

[Sees]

I've been reading more of them to the kids when I have nights at home. Like mythology and legend in general a lot of times certain things get lost or disguised a good deal in translation. Many fairy tales were old sacred stories and some you can see the interaction and transitioning of religious traditions and shifts in worldview.

Some of the more "odd" stuff would have deeper, more complex aspects as psychological and spiritual allegory layered in with the entertainment.

 

[Quagmire]

I've been on kind of a fairy tale kick for a couple of weeks. One of the stories I read was by Charles Perrault (who had one of the more popular versions of Cinderella, the version used by Disney). I read this story called Patient Griselda. It was a story of a sweet natured young lady named Griselda and a prince who did not trust women. The prince decided that Griselda was "better than other women". He trusted her and married her but then he began to believe that she would become "demanding" so he began to mistreat her to prove to himself that she was good enough, including sending their daughter away and telling her that the child had died and then sending Griselda away. In the end, all worked out. He decided that Griselda was good enough and she remarried him. And the people were happy that the prince had proven she was a good woman.

What!!!??? I could not believe the end of this story or the moral of this story. It made me nauseous.

Should we let our children read such stories!?

NO.

 

[Nada]

I've been on kind of a fairy tale kick for a couple of weeks. One of the stories I read was by Charles Perrault (who had one of the more popular versions of Cinderella, the version used by Disney). I read this story called Patient Griselda. It was a story of a sweet natured young lady named Griselda and a prince who did not trust women. The prince decided that Griselda was "better than other women". He trusted her and married her but then he began to believe that she would become "demanding" so he began to mistreat her to prove to himself that she was good enough, including sending their daughter away and telling her that the child had died and then sending Griselda away. In the end, all worked out. He decided that Griselda was good enough and she remarried him. And the people were happy that the prince had proven she was a good woman.

What!!!??? I could not believe the end of this story or the moral of this story. It made me nauseous.

Should we let our children read such stories!?

You should see "The Secret of Nimh" It is my favorite.It is a story of a mother ,and her children who have lost their father.It is about faith and hope.

 

[Erebus]

I still find Hansel and Gretel and Bluebeard disturbing.

Ahh Bluebeard, the delightful children's tale about a serial killer and his secret corpse room.

One of my favourites is one of Grimm's fairy tales called Cat and Mouse in Partnership. To very briefly summarise, a cat and a mouse decide to store a jar of fat for the winter. Over the course of the year the cat eats bits of the fat until finally there's nothing left. When winter arrives the cat eats the mouse. The story ends, "And that is the way of the world."

 

[Vinayaka]

We got a gift of a 'Fairy Tale Collection' book from a dear relative when the kids were young. We ended up chucking it. Life gave them enough nightmares.

 

[allfoak]

The Canterbury Tales.
The Clerks Prologue.

Griselda was a peasant girl with an opportunity to become royalty,
She succeeded through obedience and patience.

 

[allfoak]

Write your own modern day fairy tales.
This one was written in a different time period.
Patience and obedience are two good qualities for any time period.

 

[Ingledsva]

I've been reading more of them to the kids when I have nights at home. Like mythology and legend in general a lot of times certain things get lost or disguised a good deal in translation. Many fairy tales were old sacred stories and some you can see the interaction and transitioning of religious traditions and shifts in worldview.

Some of the more "odd" stuff would have deeper, more complex aspects as psychological and spiritual allegory layered in with the entertainment.

Yep, and some are extremely old and originally had sexual themes in them.

The tiny "shoe" originally of fur, supposedly represents a female body part.

In the older Rapunzel, she was locked in her and tower couldn't get out, but a male climbed up and impregnated her. In the first Grimm's version the witch cuts her hair off, and her lover is knocked off the wall and blinded.

Grimm indeed.


*

 

[Ingledsva]

The Canterbury Tales.
The Clerks Prologue.

Griselda was a peasant girl with an opportunity to become royalty,
She succeeded through obedience and patience.

Ahhh! Good old patriarchy! Female Obedience!

 

[Bunyip]

I think that the intent for fairy tales was often to scare the willies out of kids. Cautionary tales of what happens when you do not listen to yer mum.

Grimms fairy tales were terrifying.

 

[Draka]

I'm not too sure the original fairy tales were ever really meant for children in the first place.

 

[The Sum of Awe]

Noah's Ark is probably the worst message from fairy tales

 

[Renji]

Having an 8 year old brother, I make sure that I actually sort of supervise things that he watch on television and the things that he read. I guess the principle here is that everything is permissible, but not everything is beneficial thus the need for the parents or their guardians to guide the kids on things like this one.

 

[allfoak]

Ahhh! Good old patriarchy! Female Obedience!

I would like to add a little more perspective to that if i might.

Women are primarily intuitive, men are primarily rational.
You know, right brain, left brain stuff.
Women are the receivers of life while men are the generators of life.
Women nurture, men build.

Women acting like men and men acting like women is completely opposed to the basic design that perpetuates life.

Having said all of that:
The story of Griselda is the story of the journey of the soul.
She was a peasant girl who became royalty through patient obedience to the truth within.
It is the story of every soul, the journey from the alpha to the omega.
It seems offensive because of the perspective.
It is a lesson in understanding the intuition and it's role in achieving our highest good.

You didn't really think that this stuff that is called literature was just base and even repulsive did you?


The Bible is full of this kind of stuff as well.
Most people think the same of it.
It's too bad people are unable to get past that which hides the truth, which is themselves.

 

[allfoak]

Yep, and some are extremely old and originally had sexual themes in them.

The tiny "shoe" originally of fur, supposedly represents a female body part.

In the older Rapunzel, she was locked in her and tower couldn't get out, but a male climbed up and impregnated her. In the first Grimm's version the witch cuts her hair off, and her lover is knocked off the wall and blinded.

Grimm indeed.

This brings me back to the days of my childhood.
I had a 10 volume set of fairy tales.
I read them till the books fell apart.

Since i became an adult I have read several bibles till they have fallen apart as well.
I understand that these things are not real but that they teach hidden truths about ourselves.
Many of which cannot be understood until one's perspective grows through experience.

 

[Valjean]

I find much of the killing and genocide in the Old Testament disturbing. There's indiscriminate carnage, no concept whatever of any intrinsic human rights, no hint of moral obligation to anyone outside your own tribe, and the rationales proposed for this carnage are insane. It's a Holy Holocaust!
Why would anyone expose impressionable young minds to such 'exemplary' immorality?

 

[Jainarayan]

Why would anyone expose impressionable young minds to such 'exemplary' immorality?

No one does. It's a fallacy to believe that these make up the largest part of Christian and Jewish teaching. As for the reason for these stories, everything had to do with survival of the tribe and clan, holding onto property within the family, and protection against outsiders. The stories were a reflection of the time and place in which they were written, and are largely left that way by teachers. Keep in mind that these are not the stories that are taught in Sunday Schools, not as you're describing them. These stories are focused on by people who want to see this and focus on it. It's not part of Jewish or Christian teachings on morality. In fact, your average Christian most likely knows only the basic stories: Adam and Eve; Noah and the Flood; Moses and the Exodus; and perhaps the siege and sacking of Jericho, but without the gory details.